Antibiotics in my water and tomatoes?!

Antibiotic resistance in soil and tomato crops irrigated with freshwater and
two types of treated wastewater

by: Diana Tarver

Freshwater has become a scarce comodity for most farm lands as the demand has increased, a solution was to use municipally treated wastewater; problems arise when certain contaminants cannot be taken out of the water such as antibiotic resistant genes and antibiotics. The usage of treated wastewater on agriculture crops has made some concerned that the antibiotics will be taken up by the plants and local microbiome leading to highly resistant bacteria. Researchers Seyoum M. M. and colleagues (2022) sampled from 2 tomato farms with low growing tomatos, two irrigating with TWW and the other with FW, then tomatos are washed and collected as the results show in Figure 1.  that there was a higher amount of antibiotic resistant genes per 100mL in both secondary and teritary TWWs in the sample tomato farms using DNA extraction and PCR by selecting genes known to be ARGs. This goes to show how important it is to be concious of what we do with our treated wastewater as it can lead to more detrimental effects such as an outbreak of an antibiotic resistant bacteria found on lettuce that is all over the country affecting millions of people, this is a huge risk concidering how many antibiotics we currently have that still work against these antibiotic resistant bacteria. 

Original Article Citation:

Seyoum, M. M., Lichtenberg, R., Orlofsky, E., Bernstein, N., & Gillor, O. (2022). Antibiotic resistance in soil and tomato crop irrigated with freshwater and two types of treated wastewater. Environmental Research, 211, 113021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.113021

Environmental Cleanup of Harmful PCBs Using Bacteria

 By: Raul Gonzalez

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are man-made chemicals found in the soil environment of industrial job sites and cause human health risks like cancer and heart disease.  Low chlorinated PCBs easily move freely into the air to be inhaled by humans.  This experiment used a bacteria, LB400, to see if it was capable of cleaning up PCBs in the soil—this is called bioremediation.  The experiment used flasks filled with  wet soil and sponge filters on the neck and bottom to see how many PCBs were found in air and water.  The experiment also investigated using saponin, a chemical defense mechanism found in plants.  Four bottles were studied: soil only, soil plus saponin, soil with LB400, soil with LB400 plus saponin.  Results showed a 77% decrease of low chlorinated PCBs in the group with LB400, confirming biodegradation.  Surprisingly, a 92% decrease in the LB400 plus saponin confirms what is called bioaugmentation—the addition of something to a bacterial culture.  The next step is to couple this technique using biofilms on activated carbon for a one-size-fits-all method of large-scale delivery.  This technique is a proven effective method for reducing the amount of PCBs inhaled in communities affected by these type of pollutants. 

 

 Figure 1 - Graphs A, B and C show the amount of PCBs in the air.  The green circles included the LB400 bacteria plus saponin which shows the lowest emissions detected.  Graphs D, E and F show the PCB found in the water.  Figure taken from Bako et al. 2022. 

Reference

Bako, C. M., Martinez, A., Ewald, J. M., Hua, J. B., Ramotowski, D. J., Dong, Q., Schnoor, J. L., & Mattes, T. E. (2022). Aerobic bioaugmentation to decrease polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) emissions from contaminated sediments to air. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(20), 14338–14349. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c01043

Unearthing the Hidden Underground World

By: Destinee Lopez

Groundwater Microbiology of an Urban Open-Loop Ground Source Heat Pump with High Methane 

by Megan J. Barnett, Gareth J. Farr, Jianxun Shen, and Simon Gregory

Introduction

    The subsurface in the UK has become a crucial resource for producing energy. Low-carbon heating solutions are provided by Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems, which use shallow groundwater sources. Despite the UK's ambitious intentions to phase out gas boilers, GSHP systems are growing in popularity. Their primary goal is to reach NetZero emissions, especially in urban areas where they wish to exploit the "Subsurface Urban Heat Island effect." However, the environmental impacts of open-loop GSHPs on groundwater chemistry and bacteria remain a significant focus.

Method and Results

    At Cardiff's Grangetown Nursery School, the study was conducted. As a part of the "Cardiff Urban GeoObservatory" project, it concentrated on the UK. The GSHP system, with abstraction and recharge borehole in a sand and gravel aquifer, was its main emphasis. These boreholes and some neighboring control boreholes, all with varying levels of the GSHP's operating condition, were used to collect water samples. They were all subjected to thorough chemical examination, which included ion chromatography, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and microbial analyses using techniques based on culture and 16s rRNA gene sequencing. Understanding how the GSHP system influences groundwater chemistry and microbial communities is the primary goal of this research, with consequences for both system performance and environmental effects.

Figure one includes the map of the Cardiff Bay area and a conceptual diagram of the ground source heat pump and monitoring boreholes. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13291

Conclusion
    The discovery of high methane concentrations and the dominance of particular methane and methyl-oxidizing bacteria in the open-loop GSHP system is an exciting feature of this paper. This article's findings may impact future human activities, including energy transitions since many nations aim to switch to renewable energy sources. Additional research into controlling and mitigating methane may be prompted by environmental effects, such as the discovery of high methane concentrations and the predominance of particular methane-oxidizing bacteria. Subsurface habitats may advance due to microbial energy, particularly in metropolitan settings. This tremendous work may take years and cost billions of dollars, but it could significantly influence the environment.

Resources

J. Barnett, J. Farr, G., Shen, J., & Gregory, S. (2023). Groundwater Microbiology of an Urban Open‐Loop Ground Source Heat Pump with High Methane. Ground Water, 61(2), 274–287. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13291

Fecal pollution can explain antibiotic resistance gene abundances in anthropogenically impacted environments

environments effected by drug manufacturing are polluted with high levels of antibiotics, analyses show clear selection for antibiotic resistance as the ARG abundance cannot be explained away by fecal pollution. 

     People taking antibiotics for granted is nothing new, but often overlooked is how our demand for antibiotics can interact with our culture that pollutes with reckless abandon. Antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria are nothing recent, relatively speaking, but what is new is how we are seeing an increase of Antibiotic Resistant Genes being released in sewage waste, pharmaceutical waste, and agricultural waste.

    Utilizing metagenomics to compare, cultures were cultivated from samples of soil from farms, rivers, waste water treatment plants, pharmaceutical industry waste, and hospital waste from around the world, ARGs were found not come from selection, but from sheer presence of antibiotics. More ARGs were found at locations where antibiotics were manufactured and where livestock was kept.  Animal sewage containing nearly 100 times the amount of ARGs present in human sewage. The soils located around livestock and pharmaceutical industry were found to be hotspots of ARG selection compared to human waste water treatment plants.  Yet it is still assumed that fecal pollution is still a large driver of ARG cultivation and spread.

    Despite these findings, the extent of the impact that these ARGs possess is not known and must be studied further.  

reference:

Karkman, A., Pärnänen, K. & Larsson, D.G.J. Fecal pollution can explain antibiotic resistance gene abundances in anthropogenically impacted environments. Nat Commun 10, 80 (2019).

Staying Hydrated: The Arabidopsis root microbiome produces flavonoid-attracted Aeromonas sp. to keep plants from being dehydrated.

By: Victoria Spring

Human-induced climate change is the most significant threat to the natural environment and societies worldwide. Climate change has also led to more intense extreme weather, such as heatwaves, which elevate plant exposure to abiotic stresses. Due to heat exposure, plants undergo abiotic stresses, such as dehydration, boosting flavonoid production. Flavonoids are micronutrients that occur naturally in plants as secondary metabolites needed to induce plant and microbe interactions. Although known for initiating legume rhizobia nodulation, the effect and contribution of flavonoids within non-nodulating bacteria to plant stress remains unknown. It's important to note that flavonoids diversify the Arabidopsis root microbiome while favoring Aeromonadaceae and the cultivable Aeromonas sp. H1. Strain H1 displayed enhanced plant characteristics and dehydration resistance requiring flavonoids, although not through the sudden "cry-for-help" action due to stress, which was initially hypothesized in the study. Strain H1 boosted dehydration-induced H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide accumulation in guard cells and stomatal closure, concomitant with synergistic induction of jasmonic acid-related regulators of plant dehydration resistance. The research findings in this study showed the importance of flavonoids and the critical process of plant microbiome interaction mediation with the inclusion of dehydration resistance within bacteria-enhanced plants.

Fig.3 These graphs of the Aeromonas sp. H1 show the impact on plant dehydration.

Original Article:

He, D., Singh, S.K., Peng, L. et al. Flavonoid-attracted Aeromonas sp. from the Arabidopsis root microbiome enhances plant dehydration resistance. ISME J 16, 2622–2632 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-022-01288-7 
 

Microbial Menace in the Danube: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers Beneath the Surface

By: Stephanie Herrera

This figure illustrates the primary sources of water contamination. Detection of microbial and genotoxic pollution sources is essential for proper watershed management to maintain water traits according to quality goals.

This article delves into the fascinating yet concerning issue of water pollution in the Danube River, one of Europe's most vital waterways. Researchers conducted an in-depth investigation into the microbial contaminants lurking beneath the river's surface. The study highlights the presence of bacteria associated with suspended materials and the alarming levels of faecal pollution stemming from human activities, especially in the Danube basin. What makes this research noteworthy is its comprehensive assessment of microbial pollution and its potential impact on human and animal health. The study categorizes water quality into five classes, revealing varying degrees of contamination along the river's course. Salmonella, E. coli, and Vibrio cholerae, among others, were identified as key pathogens posing risks to public health. This research carries paramount importance as it calls for immediate action to protect this vital natural resource. It emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts across nations and industries to combat water pollution and eutrophication. The article sheds light on the urgent necessity of implementing strategies to enhance water quality and ecosystem health, with implications for agriculture, industry, and public health practices. In conclusion, this study not only exposes the microbial menace in the Danube but also serves as a clarion call for safeguarding our water resources. It underscores the pivotal role of microbiological parameters in monitoring and improving water quality, setting the stage for a more sustainable future for this iconic European river.

Original article: 

Páll, E., Niculae, M., Kiss, T., Şandru, C. D., & Spînu, M. (2013). Human impact on the microbiological water quality of the rivers. Journal of medical microbiology, 62(Pt 11), 1635–1640. https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.055749-0

Bioremediation of Pesticides in Greywater

 

By: Esmeralda Sandoval

   

Pesticides accumulate in water systems due to runoff from agricultural lands. They pose many serious threats to water microbiota and human populations. Greywater consists of domestic wastewater without fecal contamination, such as water from showers, washing machines, and sinks. Researchers investigated three different bioremediation approaches, the use of microbes to clean polluted sites, using a fungus culture, an isolated microbial consortium, and an augmented microbial consortium with fungus against two pesticides, carbendazim and thiamethoxam. The results showed that the use of the augmented consortium to biodegrade the pesticides surpassed that of the other microbial cultures, showcasing a biodegradation efficiency of 94.29% for carbendazim and 92.41% for thiamethoxam. These results suggest a promising use of cultures augmented with the fungus A. versicolor to remove persisting pesticide pollution in the environment and wastewater.

Degradation profiles of pesticides with the tested cultures: (a) fungus, (b) bacterial consortium, and (c) augmented consortium. Figure taken from Rajpal et al. 2023.

Original Article:

Rajpal, Verma, S., Kumar, N., Lee, J., Kim, K.-H., Ratan, J. K., & Divya, N. (2023). Bioremediation of carbendazim and thiamethoxam in domestic greywater using a bioaugmented microbial consortium. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 30, 103087–. doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2023.103087

Milpas: Ancient Wisdom Boosts Biodiversity

 By: Kenya Luquin

               Figure 1. (A) Abundance of bacteria species in hybrid and native maize varieties. (B) Diversity of species using a technique called Shannon's diversity index. (C) Dissimilarity between hybrid and native maize varieties. Figure taken from Gastélum et al. 2022.

Milpas are fields for growing food crops using an ancient farming system. It involves using techniques that do not harm the environment as much as modern practices because they use less pesticides and fertilizers. Some studies on plants have found that there are bacteria that interact with plants since they are seeds until they are fully grown. These bacteria can be beneficial to the growth of the plant because as the first microbes to interact with the plant, the bacteria can help protect them from pathogens in the soil. In this particular study, Gastélum and colleagues used specific procedures to compare the structure and function of bacteria found in the seeds of native maize from milpas and hybrid maize from modern crops. The results from these procedures demonstrated that there was a greater bacterial diversity in the native maize than in the hybrid varieties. While the results have opened up more questions, they have also shown that there might be a promising source of bacteria in milpas that could be useful to society. Among such microbial diversity we could potentially find bacteria strains whose metabolisms can revolutionize everything from the food industry to medicine.

Original article: Gastélum, G., Aguirre-von-Wobeser, E., de la Torre, M., and Rocha, J. (2022) Interaction networks reveal highly antagonistic endophytic bacteria in native maize seeds from traditional milpa agroecosystems. Environmental Microbiology, 24, 5583-5595

Researchers "Get their feet wet": New method to check water bacterial content conducted in Great Lakes.

By: Albert Gonzalez 

This image shows the different sites bed sediment and suspended sediment were collected in the Great Lakes area. The areas included are Sandpoint (SP), Belle River (BR), Holiday Conservation (HD), Kingsville (KV), Leamington (LE) and Point Pelee (PP). Areas where suspended sediment was collected include BR and KV, highlighted with orange icons. Figure taken from VanMensel et al. 2023.

    One of the best activities on a hot day is to go to a lake and have a quick swim. However, an important thing to be considerate of is the contamination of the water you plan to dip into. It is an ever-growing reality that microbial pollution in bodies of water can lead to exposure of a waterborne disease. A new study in the Great Lakes area was completed to estimate the amount of harmful microbes in a lake's sediment. Usually, collection of water itself is the tried and true method of testing water quality. But, examining sediment near a body of water can be another way to do so. In this study, VanMensel and colleagues used a method of gene searching named PCR (polymerase chain reaction). This technique allowed for the search of RNA (a gene component) associated with bacteria that pose a risk to human health. The genes inspected included those of bacteria that can show the amount of fecal matter in a water source, fecal indicator bacteria. With this research, a new way of checking how much microbial pollution in water systems was created. It is very important to have access to multiple ways to inspect bodies of water, especially those used by humans for a little bit of fun. 

Original article: 

VanMensel, D. et al. (2023)Microbe–sediment interactions in Great Lakes recreational waters: Implications for human health risk. Environmental Microbiology Volume 25, Issue 9:1605-1623. 

How stress on the environment can affect antimicrobial bacteria resistance.

By. Carolina Perez

The illustration of an invasion within a resistance bacteria including what models were added to the rivers microbiome sample. Along with a scale resulting from both rivers and the amount of bacterial invasion throughout a time period. Figure taken from Bagra et al. 2023.

Different life cycles can show how multiple species affect each other in a living community, population or ecosystem. The same goes for human interactions within the environment, most people don't understand how greatly we are interconnected with our ecosystem. An example of this is the addition of antimicrobial resistant bacteria invaders caused by the overall stress of the environment, most likely through our wastewater. A study in Germany set out to discover how microbial communities are impacted by stressed surroundings that multiply invasive bacteria, by introducing those communities to E.Coli CM2372 and Copper (Cu^2+) as a model stressor, mimicking familiar pathogens found in wastewater. The study consisted of samples from two different rivers in Germany, both rich in microbial biofilms which were naturally grown. Each sample was observed and categorized throughout a series of plating, both with and without the exposure to stress. The overall results by Bagra and colleagues concluded that the resistance a microbial community has toward a foreign bacteria resistance is affected by environmental stressors. Much so that the diversity of microbial communities are significantly changing, leading to a higher tolerance of invasive bacteria through resistant bacteria. However, in order to control antimicrobial resistance exposure within wastewater effluents found in the river, all forms of invasive bacteria resistance has to be deducted. Therefore, its vital for the continued survival for both humans and microbes that we take better care of the environment. Starting with the control of waste materials and its exposure toward nature, learning how to properly degrade and dispose of unwanted trash can improve our health in more ways than one.

Original Article:

Bagra, K., Bellanger, X., Merlin, C., Singh, G., Berendonk, T. U., & Klümper, U. (2023). Environmental stress increases the invasion success of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in river microbial communities. Science of the Total Environment, 904, 166661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166661

Fungal Fight Club: phylogeny and growth rate predict competitive outcomes among ectomycorrhizal fungi

Underground or above the surface opportunistic plant mutualists or Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) associate themselves with almost all the trees on Earth. EMFs may extend access to resources, employ special enzymes for nutrients, and protect hosts against various root diseases making them a positive partner within natural forests. However, EMFs have been observed to alter their response toward environmental cues due to soil pH, competition, and various other factors. Focusing on pH, competition, and their effect, researchers have theorized that phylogenetic distance would be an effective predictor of competition and expect increased growth within lower pH levels. Amanita muscaria, Hebeloma cylindrosporum, Laccaria bicolor, Paxillus involutus, and Cenococcum geophilum were then plated using various controls, their results being inconsistent with known fungal responses to competition. The outcome of competition within single and pair controls was significantly altered based on which pH environment the fungi were placed in. Researchers also concluded phylogenetic and growth rate distance similarly predicted the effects of fungal competition, noting their interactions to be complex. Overall, their findings highlighted the need for further research to understand EMF’s response to competition and environmental changes. Future research may yield positive results that may potentially be used for environmental and agricultural use.  

The figure demonstrates the outline of the experiment: The different layouts used for testing control and competition (A), the Phylogeny of the five fungi used within the experiment (B), and examples of competitive growth from each fungal species (C). 

Legend: [A = A. muscaria, C = C. geophilum, H = H. cylindrosporum, L = L. bicolor, P = P. involutus]. 

Original Article: 

Alexander H Smith, Laura M Bogar, Holly V Moeller, Fungal Fight Club: phylogeny and growth rate predict competitive outcomes among ectomycorrhizal fungi, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Volume 99, Issue 10, October 2023. 

Potentially harmful chemical elements affect human gut bacteria

By Jessica Rodriguez

Chemical elements that affect human gut health have been discovered in groundwater sources, soil composts, and biosolids. These elements include (As) arsenic, (Pb) lead, (Hg) mercury, (Cd) cadmium, (Cu) copper, and (Zn). Contamination in the drinking water and food are from the chemical elements found in groundwater sources and soils from mining activities. There are three bacteria's found in the human gut that are identified as Escherichia coli (E. coli-break down of food and prevent harmful microbes), two probitoic species, Lactobacillus rhamnosus (maintain digestive health), and Lactobacillus acidophilus (prevents bad bacteria). When humans consume water and food containing harmful chemical elements, the pH may be disrupted and cause gut imbalance. Research showed that E. coli may become resistant to antibiotics in high levels of pH and Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus probiotics may be affected in the gut at low pH levels. Further research is necessary to understand how the presence of these harmful chemical elements in contaminated food and drinking water sources may worsen the affects on the human gut. 

The figure shows the harmful chemical elements that affect the three human gut bacteria's. The figure is from Bolan et al. (2022)

Original article:

Bolan, Shiv, et al. "Differential toxicity of potentially toxic elements to human gut microbes." Elsevier-Chemosphere (2022). https://doi.org/q0.q016/j.chemosphere.2022.134958.

Environmental Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols

By: Azeneth Ramos

The figure shows the layout of the pathogen Air Quality (pAQ) monitor

 

The sever acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) is the disease that is transmitted via airborne. Taking precautions such as keeping distance, quarantining sick individuals, and restrict the overflow of crowds. It is known that the predominant pathway of transmission is airborne and the cause of rapid infectivity spread throughout the world. Puthussery and colleagues (2023) used a technique that was developed to combat the rapid spread by introducing the concept of pathogen Air Quality (pAQ) to monitor in real-time of the detection of possible SARS-CoV2 aerosols, meaning it contains the virus and remains in the air. The pAQ monitor is consisted of a batch of wet-wall glass cyclone also called, wet cyclone. The wet cyclone is connected to a vacuum pump that samples air and as the aerosols enter the wet cyclone that impact the inner wetted walls and are collected in the liquid media which the results are given after 30 seconds. The results show that the wet cyclone is ideal for the use of high-time resolution monitoring in real-world environments. Therefore, the wet cyclone showed better virus sampling results that copy-right available samples. The next step for this research as new viruses continues to evolve is for the widespread of adaptation of such technology for the assistance towards the public health officials to implement rapid disease control measures. 

Original Article:

Puthussery, J.V., Ghumra, D.P., McBrearty, K.R. et al. Real-time environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols. Nat Commun 14, 3692 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39419-z

Removing Mercury from the Water Using Bacteria

Mercury traces have been found in our water and soil. This can lead to our food and water being exposed to a highly toxic heavy metal, which is a major health threat. Microorganisms can be utilized to clean up contaminants in the soil, water, and other environments. The process of bioremediation, also known as microbial remediation, can be utilized to improve our water sources and remove contaminants. It has been confirmed that this method is highly effective to dispose of contaminants, but the public is concerned regarding accidental human exposure after using a pathogen. In a study by Xue and colleagues (2022), they used a bacterium to remove mercury from the environment and found an effecive method to remove the introduced organisms. The experiment consisted of introducing a genetically modified bacteria into water contaminated with mercury. This bacteria, Pseudomonas putida, was engineered to be able to capture mercury particles. After the bacteria accomplished the removal of mercury from the water, they were magnetically removed. The results revealed that the water had no living organisms and no mercury after the treatment was completed. Considering the public concerns, the findings of this study demonstrate the biosecurity and efficiency of contaminant removal using bioremediation.
 

The figure demonstrates the process of bioremediation. Using a genetically modified organism (GMO), mercury is intended to be removed from the environment. 

Original article: 

Xue, Y., Qiu, T., Sun, Z., Liu, F. and Yu, B. (2022), Mercury bioremediation by engineered Pseudomonas putida KT2440 with adaptationally optimized biosecurity circuit. Environ Microbiol, 24: 3022-3036. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16038

Role of heavy metal concentrations and vitamin intake from food in depression

This study targets its audience by explaining how depression hit many people after COVID-19 and the way vitamins are a combination of a series of negative effects it may have on humans. Depression is an effect of many socioeconomic factors and is seen more commonly now in modern society, therefore, the intake of supplements has been very well-known, as well as, studies coming out describing the outcomes. Heavy metals including Mercury(Hg), Cadmium(Cd), and Lead(Pb) are studied in order to understand if it truly makes an impact on someone dealing with depression. Many factors were taken into consideration when performing the study where the authors examined the 16, 371 participants and recovered blood, urinary samples, medical checkups, and monitoring of food ingested. The results of the study allowed us to see that 3.64% of participants were dealing with depression. In table 1 it is described that cadmium was higher for people with depression. In table 2 it is analyzed that participants were given vitamin B1, B2, B3, C, A, and retinol which seemed for people to have a lower percentage of depression. Then in table 3, it allowed us to verify that heavy metals, ingestion of vitamins, and sex of people will not influence who has depression and who does not. This study allowed the audience to understand that heavy metals and dietary supplements can improve the well being of a person including a topic as strong as depression. 

Figure 1 demonstrating effects of serum Cd, and daily vitamin B1, B3, A

In the future, this will allow people dealing with symptoms of depression to understand the effects of vitamins and which ones should be suggested rather than ingesting various supplements without knowing how it can affect the person. 

citation: 

Nguyen, .D., Oh, H., Hoang, N.H.M. et al. Environmental science and pollution research role of heavy metal concentrations and vitamin intake from food in depression: a national cross-sectional study (2009–2017). Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 4574–4586 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15986-w   

The Symbiosis Between Society & the Environment

 Humans represent a fraction of a broader ecosystem but yet, they wield significant influence over the ecological surroundings, which in return, excert effects on the social, economic, and political structures that shape daily existence. Disregarding both human and non-human life and engaging in the unbrindled exploitation of natural resources can be likened to an assault on the environment. This is particularly concerning due to intricate ties between violence, poverty, and the well-being of both human beings and the planet.

The figure below illustrates a model that places ecological environment at the core of all life, incluiding human life. It emphasizes the intricate and inseparable connection between humans and the ecological environment, mainly positioning human systems and the environment in a mutually dependent subject-subject relationship. The model is inspired by Capra's (1982) acknowledgement of the constantly interacting awareness within the ecological environment and closely aligns with the ecosystems model in social work, which considers people in relation to the environment. The multifaceted issues of war, poverty, and natural disasters are entangled within the complex network of interacting social, political, and economic human systems. 

Figure. Human beings within the environment

Schmitz, Cathryne L., Matyok, Tom., Sloan, Lacey M., James, Channel "The Relationship between social work and environmental sustainability: Implication for interdisciplinary practice" https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1468-2397.2011.00855.x 

 Portioning of beta-diversity mechanisms of soil and plant communities response to nitrogen fixing

By: Ricardo Gonzalez

The study is to gather information because there is a serious threat of nitrogen decomposition is to the terrestrial biodiversity affecting biodiversity ecosystems. This alone is a great effort to determine whether species turnover and nestedness has on different taxonomic groups such as plants, soil, bacteria and soil fungi, all respond differently to enrichment due to the differences in intrinsic logical and metabolic properties. 

Ultimately the species turnover and nestedness varied in results. It can be determined that fungi, had a low input of nestedness as well as bacteria for this experiment. Plants have an abundant figure in turnover, and nestedness affecting the fungal communities as a result. With this it provides a better understanding of the mechanisms of how driving, biodiversity in a community works with performing different types of experiments and analysis throughout the article and the importance of the community assembly overall.

With this it can, determined that the turnover reflects the replacement of a species between sites and nestedness happens with species loss or growth in a community. Overall, it is still required to do further research in order to evaluate the functional of the B-diversities responding to n enrichment in an environment. The impact of this study will not only promote future studies in different locations and temperature, cultures and environment which still has an abundant of information yet to be discovered.

Original article:

Liu, Weixing et al. “Partitioning of Beta‐diversity Reveals Distinct Assembly Mechanisms of Plant and Soil Microbial Communities in Response to Nitrogen Enrichment.” Ecology and evolution 12.6 (2022): e9016–n/a. Web.

CAN RAINFALL INCREASE GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION ?

     

 The figure above shows the location of the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone.

 Picture Source: From W.M. Alley et al., 1999, USGS Circular 1186: Sustainability of Groundwater Resources

    There has been a contamination of infiltered water with fecal indicator bacteria in the Netherlands, Usually, the fecal bacteria stays in a barrier called the unsaturated zone which keeps the microbial contamination away from the soil surface and the groundwater. But, due to the amount of rainwater that has been occurring and the rise in groundwater, the bacteria in the unsaturation zone have been spilling over into the saturation zone. An experiment was held to compare the retention and release of Enterococcus moraviensis and Escherichia coli. The data of the rainfall event column experiment shows that E. moraviensis sticks to soil particles better than E. coli which causes it to not enter the sand columns. Leading us to the conclusion that E. coli can follow the flow of rainfall into our groundwater easily. This experiment is important to know so that we can minimize the risk of the contamination of our drinking water before it is too late. The agricultural field has a huge impact on the fecal indicator bacteria which leads to fecal pollution. The fecal pollution can have harmful pathogens that can affect the health of humans. Groundwater is one of our main freshwater supplies on earth if it is contaminated we are risking our health and loss of water supply. With the information we have learned today, we can find locations with safe levels of bacterial contamination and deter further contamination. 

original article citation: Soltani Tehrani, R. Hornestra, L ., Dam, Jos van, Cirkel, Drik Gijsbert (2023). Transport and Retention of Fecal Indicator Bacteria in Unsaturated Porous Media: Effect of Transient Water Flow. http://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00219-23

Improve the ID of the Fecal Contaminate with MST

The figure shows three different tables each one showing the standardized MST results of three different beach locations. Table 3 is for St. Clair Shores Memorial Park Beach. Table 4 is for Walter and Mary Burke Park Beach. Table 5 is for Lake St. Clair Metropark Beach.

Recreational water quality monitoring or RWQM is used to reduce the risk of being exposed to waterborne pathogens from fecal contamination. But a traditional RWQM is unable to distinguish between human or nonhuman fecal contamination. MTS or microbial source tracking is a method to improve RWQM that can identify the source of fecal contamination but when more than one target is present it will not be possible to determine the primary source of the fecal contamination. Jamison et al. (2022) have provided this study to aim for the standardization and normalization of MST by relating the copies of gene targets to that of the amount of fecal matter present with the help of ddPCR analysis, dry weight equivalence, and standard curve generation. Fecal samples were collected from five public beaches and the samples consisted of humans, gull and two Canadian geese fecal matter. The data concluded that at two of the five beaches had two targets detected the primary fecal contamination being geese for one beach and gull for the other, one beach only detected human feces, and one beach did not detect multiple targets. MTS can be applied to RWQM projects to help identify nonhuman fecal contamination.

Original article:

Jamison, M. N., Hart, J. J., & Szlag, D. C. (2022) Improving the Identification of Fecal Contamination in Recreational Water through the Standardization and Normalization of Microbial Source Tracking. ACS EST Water, 2305-2311.